Writing for the St. Paul Pioneer Press , Julio Ojeda-Zapata noted Gateway’s recent efforts to woo consumers considering iMacs with its own Profile 4 all-in-one computer featuring an LCD screen and Windows compatibility.
Ojeda-Zapata said that Gateway wants to “put the media weight” of Apple’s own iMac and “Switch” advertising campaign to work for itself — even going so far as to lampoon Apple’s ads in its own TV spots.
The Profile 4 gets the nod for processor performance, built-in memory and USB 2.0 support, while the iMac gets kudos for a more flexible display, bus-power support on FireWire and better graphics processing hardware on the high end. The Profile 4 has no built-in wireless networking support, but has a PC card slot that can be used for that purpose.
The iMac “stands alone” for DVD burning, thanks to the SuperDrive included on high-end models. Gateway plans to include a DVD burner in Profiles this year, but the models out now have no such capabilities.
Ojeda-Zapata said that iMacs “offer the best out-of-the-box experience” thanks to the software included, and that Profiles simply “don’t measure up,” despite including Microsoft Works and Encarta.
For the bottom line, Ojeda-Zapata recommends iMacs for users looking for elegant design and better multimedia support, while Profiles get thumbs up for space-saving design and Windows compatibility.
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